False Bay garden in May
by Diana
Studer
- gardening for biodiversity
in Cape Town, South Africa
Out front the garden is coming on. The olive tree is an
embraceable size. Our side of the boundary wall the succulents are a dense and
complex tapestry dotted with scarlet and salmon pelargoniums.
But Through the Garden Gate the garden is a mess. We are in the mucky
throes of installing our rain water tank. One heap of soil he redistributed,
that corner is back to normal. I attacked the second heap which is hogging the space
between the table and Froggy Pond. A third is laid across the garden beds and
pots. Another trowel full for you?? The tank waits with two bags of pebbles for
checkerboard seams in Rose Courtyard. Down at the shady end near the lemon
tree, chaos has a concrete platform almost ready for the tank. We plan to use
that water in the washing machine - as our next step of droughtproofing our
life and home.
A WET mess! The clouds brought us 5 millimetres of rain.
My new Canon camera is fun to use as we mostly agree on what
exactly we are looking at.
Halleria lucida
carries its flowers hidden against the trunk, nectar for the sunbirds followed
by berries for ... we'll see who comes. Osteospermum
moniliferum out front is beginning to flower and the bees are there for
Wildflower
Wednesday.
With autumn coolth and at least a little rain I am planting the gaps. Against our neighbour's garage wall and outside our livingroom Van
Riebeeck's almond hedge is a protea, Brabejum
stellatifolium (the leaves in whorls like stars) attracts insects then birds.
In the drift of garden prunings beneath the birdfeeder Linum africanum (which will have yellow flowers similar to Oxalis) I have added succulent string of
pearls Curio radicans to the wall
planter outside the kitchen. One more tree waits.
In Porterville I used to say the garden year began with the
March lilies after the summer baking. No sign of those leaves and flowers which
I transplanted here? On False Bay in autumn Barleria,
Hypoestes and Plectranthus quietly
inform me the garden has awoken. But the clearer signal is Boophone (from the Greek phone
meaning death as the bulb is poisonous) fan of leaves just outside the bay
window, and the spotted leaves of Lachenalia
rubida emerging from the top of the terrace wall. Dais cotonifolia is a thirsty tree leafing out happily. Potted lime
has lots of fruit developing. Outside the front door (in life not as caged as
the camera says) the Searsia crenata
is coming up surrounded by a ball gown skirt of Plectranthus neochilus.
New this month are the blue spires of Plectranthus
neochilus along the pavement.
Fading flowers on Rotheca, Hypoestes and Plectranthus. Iceberg and pelargoniums
bloom on.
![]() |
Rotheca, Pelargonium, Hypoestes Plectranthus neochilus, Pelargonium, Iceberg rose Leonotis, Pelargonium, Plectranthus saccatus |
Caught before the ear emerged and the paw waved hello, a
headless Thomas was fast asleep.
Last Saturday 20th May was the most spectacular sunset we
have had here, perhaps my most memorable ever!
Our False Bay garden in May
2015
when I first planted the Karoo
Koppie
May
2016 in our False Bay garden
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Danke für sinnvolle Kommentare. Die werden erst veröffentlicht nachdem ich sie gelesen habe. Es können auch Bemerkungen sein die in eine ganz andere Richtung gehen.
I welcome comments on posts from the last 2 months
Danke für sinnvolle Kommentare. Die werden erst veröffentlicht nachdem ich sie gelesen habe. Es können auch Bemerkungen sein die in eine ganz andere Richtung gehen.
I hope that rain is the start of much, much more, Diana. My own rain tanks are already nearly empty and it's unlikely we'll see any more rain here until October or November but, with water restrictions now reduced, I'm lucky to be able to use the irrigation system somewhat more this year. I sigh every time I see those beautiful blue butterfly flowers in your garden (now renamed Rotheca I gather). As to Thomas, my own cat, Pipig, is striking much the same pose - cats are so funny! Best wishes with the ongoing rain water collection effort.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see you still have lots of colour & greenery in your garden despite the drought .. we used rinse water from the washing machine successfully during drought times. Good luck with the tank it will be very useful. Thomas looks very fluffy & relaxed!
ReplyDeleteThat is an impressive water tank. How will it be filled with water from the washing machine? Will there be a filter in between?
ReplyDeleteOh no! The other way. We will collect rain water, then contrive to use that to supply the washing machine. It does have a leaf catcher at the top. And will have a first flush diverter.
DeleteI hope there will be enough rain to do the washing. The water in our rain barrel often smells a bit peculiar.
DeleteHoping for rain on Saturday, and real rain on Wednesday. Low dams mean our tap water sometimes smells of geosmin (earthy muddy smell but quite safe to drink, and we have a filter)
DeleteThat sunset really is spectacular! I read somewhere this week that Cape Town is now officially in drought. Sad news. I hope the winter rains will give you some respite and enable you to make use of the water tank.
ReplyDeleteVery informative post Diana :-)
ReplyDeleteheadless Thomas, so funny. I love your description of the size of the olive tree as embraceable! Your new camera is taking great shots, but as you say, cameras do sometimes tend to disagree on what you're both seeing. I've never thought of it like that, it's like a power struggle.
ReplyDeleteThe olive has made that satisfying leap from scrawny sapling to - when I grow up I WILL be a tree.
DeleteWhen in doubt, the camera has the casting vote!
Here's hoping for centimeters of rain for you regularly...5 mm, ha! Glad to see the rain water tank going in and that sunset. All looks good!
ReplyDeleteWatching the long term forecast and hoping for proper winter downpours in June.
DeleteI'm glad you got a little bit of rain, I know you've been worried about the drought.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Wow! What a spectacular end to your post! I hope you get much more rain, and best wishes finishing the water tank project. Thomas is ever adorable!
ReplyDeleteYour rainwater tank looks huge, you now need more rain to help fill it. You have a lovely selection of new arrivals this month. That sunset looks incredible! Sarah x
ReplyDelete750 litres - about enough to run the washing machine for two weeks. It is interesting to see the volume of the water we use.
DeleteGetting used to your new layout. Seems I'm replying to a reply...not sure. Talk about rain, we had sooo much the ants are invading the house. Your scenic photos are always a joy to view. Good luck on your rainwater tank.
DeleteInstalling a water tank is a nightmare once the garden is thriving. I hope, it will be back to normal soon.
ReplyDeleteThis position is not so bad. It is one of the last corners that needed to be planted. The corner where I dump the prunings for shredding. And at the better end of that gutter, rather than the brick patio outside the kitchen - where it would have been garstigly and fugly.
DeleteBest wishes for generous rain. The Brabejum is very interesting--one I'm not familiar with--have not seen it here. It looks like it must make a great screen.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very beautiful tree - interesting leaves, and flowers, and fruit (the 'almonds') but be warned, in time it becomes an enchanted forest.
DeleteHow much water does your new rainwater tank hold? I installed a 50-gallon rain barrel when my new addition was built and I'm amazed at how little rain it takes to fill it.
ReplyDeleteI find it fascinating that our gardens are waking up at the same time, given the differences in our locations. I guess that's because your garden goes dormant during the hot, dry season, while mine goes dormant during the cold, snowy season.
Ours is 750 litres (200 gallons). Expecting it to overflow in the next 24 hours as the storm rolls in. Your 50 gallons would be 200 litres - twice the size of the neat little tank I'd like for the patio roof.
DeleteA beautiful autumn garden. It's intriguing doing Through The Garden Gate and noting changes from one year to the next. Our garden feels very different to this time last year. A very dry spring affected a lot. Good luck with the water butts. B x
ReplyDeleteWill be pruning and chipping tomorrrow as I tidy up after the storm.
DeleteNo! my last attempt at a comment was a mess....
ReplyDeleteThank you for your beautiful post, transporting me away with your beautiful images and words. Oh my ' The olive tree is an embraceable size' captured me right away. Ahh, to have a garden as beautiful... at least I'm back at the plots (and our garden is nice but not like yours).